Mail-bag catching and delivering apparatus.



PATENTED APR. 9, 1907. S. A. FRASER & P. S. KLINB. MAIL BAG GATCHING ANDDELIVERING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.28.1907. 4 gEBETB-BHEBT 1.

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Not 849,673. PATENTED APR. 9, 1907.

S. A. FRASER & F. S. KLINE.

MAIL BAG OATOHING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 28. 1907.

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MAI-L BAG OATGHING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 28.1907.

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PATENTED APR. 9; 1907.

TCHING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.28.1907.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SIMON A. FRASER AND FREDRIOK S. KLINE, OF LORAIN, OHIO.

MAlL-BAG CATCHING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS- Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented April 9, 1907.

Application filed January 28, 1907. Serial No. 354,433,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, SIMON A. FRASER and FREDRICK S. KLINE, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Lorain, in the county of Lorain and Stateof Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-BagCatching and Delivering Apparatus, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention is a mail-bag catching and delivering apparatus suitablefor use on railways, and has for its main object to provide an improveddevice for collecting and delivering mail-bags by a moving train.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device capable ofcollecting and delivering a plurality of bags at the same time, being inthis respect much superior to those devices which will only collect ordeliver a single bag.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved devices carriedby the car and capable of operation from either side or in eitherdirection and which can readily be moved inside the car to permit theremoval of the collected bag and also to permit the attachment of a bagto be next delivered. This is advantageous, since it does not call forexposure of the clerk at or through the door while removing or attachinga bag. Also the device can be slid back into the car when desired, sothat it will form no obstruction to the doorway when not in use.

A further object of the invention is to pro vide improved devices at thestation for delivering the outgoing bag to the catcherarm and forreceiving the incoming bags, said devices being so arranged that theymay be reversed to operate in either direction and are also capable ofbeing shifted laterally away from the track to be entirely out-ofaction. Furthermore, the said dovicesoccupy but little floor-space,which is highly desirable in stationplatforms.

WVith these and other objects in view the invention is hereinafterdescribed and claimed and is illustrated in the accompanying drawings,in which Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the apparatus,parts being broken away to show other parts. Fig. 2 is a top plan view,the car being in horizontal section and showing in dotted lines thecatcher swung into the car. Fig. 3 is a vertical central sectionillustrating the pivotal connections of the re ceiving-box. Fig. 4 is adetail, partly in section, showing particularly the pivot of one of theguides for the pointed shaft or bar of the catcher. Fig. 5 is a sideelevation, and Fig. 6 is a top plan view of a modification.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the car is indicated at 6, andits doorway at 7. Fixed to the inside of the side wall of the caradjacent to the doorway is a supportingguide 8,, the front end of whichis substantially flush with the door-jamb. There is one of thesesupports at each side of the door. Each sup )ort consists of a plateextending horizontal y and having inturned flanges 9 at its upper andlower edges, forming an undercut channel 10. m3

Slidable in this channel 'is a plate 11, having projecting cars 12, towhich are pivoted, as at 13, a horizontal swinging arm 1 1, bent to forman elbow, so that when swung out the outer end of the arm will projectbeyond the side of the car a sullicient distance to co operate withother devices placed on the platform of the station and to behereinafter described. The arm 14 has a handle 15, by which it may beswung in or out, and when swung out it bears or abuts against thedoorjamb, as seen at 16, whereby the thrust or impact strain issupported. Furthermore, a bracket 17, secured to the door-jamb, assistsin supporting the arm in such position.

The arm and the devices carried thereby may be swung out or in throughthe doorway, and when swung in is located entirely in the car, asindicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, thus allowing all necessarypreparations to be made by the clerks within the car and also allowingthe door to be closed in bad weather.

The block 11. is slidablo in the guides 9, and when located at the frontend the arm is in operative positionat the door, and when slid back thearm and parts carried thereby are back within the car, o'll'cring noobstruction to the doorway, and so permitting the same to be used forother purposes.

As stated, there is a support and guide 8 and 9 at each edge of thedoorway, and the apparatus may be reversed by sliding the block 11 outof one guide and placing the same in the other, the arm 14 beinginverted and the outer parts reversed.

At its outer end the arm is provided with an eye 18, in which iits theend of a limb 19, projecting from the shaft or main bar 20 of thecatcher. The eye 18 is elliptic or noncircular and so set that thecatcher cannot be turned, but will always be held in parallelism withthe side of the car. The arm is held in the eye by a set-screw 21, whichmay be removed to allow the parts to be inverted when reversed to theopposite side of the doorway, as referred to above.

The shaft 20 is a stout bar of metal, sharpened at its front end andprovided with a barb 22. At its rear end it carries the deliverydevices, being forked, as indicated at 23, and having a hooked latch 24,which is pivoted at 25 to the end of the shaft and which works at itslower end between the forks and stops at said end against a lip 26,depending from the bottom of the shaft. At its upper end the latch 24 isconnected by a link 27 to a triplever 28,which is fulcrumed at 29 andworks in a slot 30, formed in the shaft. The dependinglower end of thetrip-lever is provided with a roller 31 and also with a spring 32, whichnormally holds the latch 24 closed.

The devices at the station include a box 33 to receive the bag to bedelivered. This box has a mouth 34 at one side and a cushion 35 on theopposite side and a door 36, through which the bag delivered may beremoved from the box. The boxis pivotally mounted, as indicated at 37,upon a sliding block 38, which slides at the edge in grooved guides 39,secured to the station-platform or to sills thereon. The guides are atright angles to the track, and consequently the box and devices carriedthereby may when desired be shifted backwardly away from the track asufficient distance to be entirely out of operation. The box isconveniently moved by means of a lever 40, connected by a link 41 to theblock on which the box is mounted.

The box is pivotally mounted, as stated, so that it may be rotated toreceive a bag or bags from trains going in either direction. it isconveniently turned by means of a lever 42, which is pivoted to the sidethereof and which also acts as a latch by dropping into a notch in thetop of the pin 43, projecting from the base-block, there being a similarpin on each side.

Mounted upon the top of the box is a pair of guides 44, placed oppositeto each other and consisting of pieces of rather heavy sheet metalflanged at their upper and lower edges, as indicated at 45, and taperedto a narrow semicircular form at the end, as inclicated at 46, whichends when closed together form a substantially circular neck, on whichthe bag 47 to be taken may be hung by its loop or handle 48. Each of thesides or guides is pivoted at 49 to the top of the box, near the frontor forward edge thereof, and extends thence rearwardly beyond the rearedge thereof, and beside each of the plates is a flat spring 50, whichis secured to the top of the box and bears against the side of theplate, tending to close the plates together, as shown in full lines inFigs. 1 and 2.

In operation the parts are so positioned to the outer side of the car.

that as the train passes the station the point of the catcher-shaft 20will enter between the guides 44 and the guides will swing to a limitedextent in either direction to accommol date themselves to the positionof the shaft.

This is highly important, because the swing of the car in rapid motionwill often cause the position of the catcher to vary more of less,sometimes as much as several inches. Hence to insure operation under allcircumstances the yieldingly-supported guides are provided. As thecatcher-shaft passes through between the guides the latter soaccommodate themselves to the position or direction of motion of theformer that the point of the shaft passes through the throat at 46,carrying with it the bag 47. The pivotal mounting of the guides and thesprings 50 then al low the guides to spread apart, as shown in dottedlines in Fig. 2, suflicient to allow the whole catcher-shaft and itsconnecting-limb 19 to slip through between the guides. At the same timethe bag to be delivered, (indicated at 60,) carried by the latch 24,enters above the mouth 34 of the box, and at that instant the roller 31of the trip strikes the ledge 51 at the top of the box, thereby trippingthe lever and latch and allowing the bag to drop from the latch and intothe box. The forks 23 insure that the bag will be stripped or forcedfrom the hook 24 as it swings back.

It is to be noticed that any ordinary number of bags may be hung uponeither the neck 46 or the hook 24, since as the point of the shaft 20passes through the former the handles or loops of the bags will slide upon the shaft and over the barb 22, which will retain them thereon untilswung within the car and removed. Also a plurality of bags may be hungupon the latch 24, and when said latch is tripped they will all dropinto the delivery- In Figs. 5 and 6 a modification is shown whichalthough constructed on the same general principle is more desirable forsome reasons, one of which is that it does not take any room on theinside of the car, as with the construction above described. In themodilied form the main bar or shaft 20 instead of being carried by asingle arm which swings within the car is carried by a pair of swingingarms or brackets, (indicated at 70.) Each of these is hinged, as at 71,to one of the jambs of the car-door 7, and the main bar 20 is pivotallyhung from the ends of both of these arms by means of pivot-bolts 72,which extend through the outer ends of the arms and connect the same toan upper bar or part 73, formed integral with the main catcherbar 20 andconnected thereto by limbs 74 and 75. The front end ofthe upper bar orpart 73 is connected by a link 76 to a sleeve 77, which is slidable on aguide-rod 78, secured There is one of the box near the back wallthereof.

these rods and sleeves on each side of the doorway for use when thecatcher IS reversed. A handle 79 1s connected to one of 'the arms toswing the same in or out, and

this handle has at the rear end a hook 80, which may be caught over theother arm, as shown in Fig. 5, to hold the catcher closed in or againstthe side of the car.

The arms 70 are, as stated, pivotally connected to the catcher and swingin parallelism in or out to place the catcher either close to the sideof the car, and thus out of operation, or at a distance therefrom inproper position to enter the guide device at the station, as indicatedin Fig. 6. By manipulating the handle 79 the arms and catcher may beswung around close to the side of the car, the sleeve 77 traveling upthe rod 7 S to the position shown in Fig. 5, which brings the catcherclose to the side of the car. To hold it there, the hook S0 at the endof the handle 79 is caught over the arm 70. For operation the bar isswung out until the arms 70 stand at a right angle to the side of thecar and the sleeve 77 is drawn back to the rear end of the rod 78. Thisholds the catcher in position to enter the guide at the station, ashereinbefore described.

To reverse the catcher, the front end of the link 76 is disconnectedfrom the sleeve 77 and the catcher is detached from the swinging arms byremoving the bolts 72. Then the catcher is reversed and the boltsreplaced and the link 76 connected to the sleeve 77 on the other side ofthe car-door.

The box 33 is preferably provided with a ladder 81 at the rear, whichenables the bag 47 to be hung on the guide and which also serves as abrace for the box. The foot of this ladder is not connected to theplatform, but is preferably constructed to slide over the top thereof orupon a block 82, set upon the platform in proper position to receive it.

The cushion 35 is formed of double web of canvas or the like, which isdrawn tightly over rollers 83, placed at top and bottom of This forms acheap and effective cushion, which will tend to prevent injury to thecontents of the bag when it strikes In addition to the double web anordinary stuffed cushion 84, attached to the back wall of the box, maybe used, if desired. The bags are preferably suspended by means of arope-loop 85, provided with a snap-hook and passed through the ordinaryhandle of the mail-bag.

Various changes, modifications, or equivalents may be made or usedwithin the scope of the following claims.

l/Ve claim 1. In a mail-bag catcher and deliverer for cars, incombination, a pair of horizontallyswinging arms hinged to the oppositejambs of the car-door, a device for transferring bags, pivotallyconnected to the outer ends of the arms, and means for holding the armsswung either in or out.

2. In a mail-bag catcher and deliverer, in combination, asupporting-arm, and a pointed bar carried at the outer end thereof substantially parallel to the side of the car and having a bag-holdinglatch at its rear end, and a trip-lever carried by the bar and 0011-nected to the latch, and arranged to strike an obstacle beside thetrack, to release the bag.

In a mail-bag deliverer, in combination, a horizontal bar carried by thecar substantially parallel to the side of the car and having a fork atthe rear end, a latch pivoted between the branches of the fork andarranged to hold a bag, and a tripping device connected to the latch andprojecting from the bar, and arranged to strike an obstacle beside thetrack and release the bag.

4. In a mail-bag catcher and deliverer, in combination, ahorizontally-swinging arm pivotally supported on the car beside thedoorway thereof, and a bar having catching devices at its front end anddelivering devices at its rear end, said bar being detachably suspendedfrom the end of the arm and reversible with respect thereto.

5. In a mail-bag catcher, in combination, a catcher-bar carried by thecar, and a split tapered guide supported at the station and havingyielding sides and means to hold a bag at the small end thereof, theguide being arranged so that the bar will enter at the large end thereofand pass through the same.

6. In a mail-bag catcher, in combination, a catcher-bar carried by theear, and a tapered guide at the station, formed of oppositespring-supported sides, having means at the small end thereof to supporta ba and arranged so that the bar will pass between said sides.

7. In a mail-bag catcher, in combination, a catcher-bar carried by thecar, and a guide at the station, formed of opposite spring-sup portedside plates tapered to form a neck at the small end, adapted to receivea loop on a mail-bag, and pivotally mounted at their large ends.

8. A 1nail-bag catching and delivering apparatus for a station,comprising a box hav ing a mouth adapted to receive a bag dropped by thecar, a support on top of the box for the outgoing bag, and a guide onthe box leading to said support, the box being pivotally mounted to turnits mouth and said guide in opposite directions.

9. A mail-bag catching and delivering apparatus for a station,comprising a receivingbox for the incoming bag, and a delivery devicemounted on the box, for the outgoing bag, the box being shiftablelaterally to bring the apparatus into or out of position to cooperatewith devices carried by the car.

10. In a mail-bag catching and delivering apparatus in combination, acatcher-bar carried by the car and having a latch and trip at its rearend, a receiving-box at the station having a projection in the path ofthe trip and arranged to release the latch and drop a bag held therebyinto the box, and a support upon the boX for an outgoing bag, located inthe path of the catcher-bar.

11. In a mail-bag catching and delivery apparatus, in combination, anarm projecting from the car, a longitudinally extending catcher-barcarried by the arm beside the car, and having a pointed front endadapted to enter a loop on a mail-bag, and a trip-actuated bag-holder atthe rear end, a'boX at the station having a mouth at the side, and aledge at the top adapted to strike the trip and release the holder asthe bar passes over the boX, and a tapered yielding guide mount- 20 edupon the top of the boX in line with the bar and having means at itssmall end to hold a loop on a bag in position to be engaged by the frontend of the catcher-bar as it passes through the guide.

12. In a mail-bag catcher and deliverer for 25 the car, beside thedoorway, a sleeve slidable 7 0n the rod, and a link connecting thesleeve and bar.

In testimony whereof we afiix our slgnatures 1n presence of twowltnesses.

SIMON A. FRASER, FREDRICK S. KLINE. Witnesses:

G A. REsEK, O. F. ADAMS.

